Behavioral load testing of the Disraeli facility

Abstract

The Disraeli facility, which was completed in 1960, consists of several overpasses utilizing rolled steel beam construction and a riveted steel plate girder bridge crossing the Red River in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The total length of the facility is approximately 707 m (2320 ft). In 1984, the City of Winnipeg commissioned Reid Crowther and Partners Limited to perform a load test on the facility to ascertain the possibility of increasing the maximum gross vehicle weight limit. The tests were performed on three consecutive Sundays, from September 23 to October 7, 1984.Three spans were tested. One normal and one skewed span were selected for the overpasses to study possible differences in their behavior along the exterior span of a three-span continuous riveted plate girder bridge over the Red River. The test was designed to determine the structural response of the bridges at different load levels, to determine the load distribution characteristics, and to investigate dynamic impact values for the test vehicles.This paper describes the instrumentation layout, data acquisition system, test vehicles, and testing procedures. Test results and comparisons with the predicted values utilizing conventional analysis are included.